Agenda item

Report attached.

The Leader of the Council submitted proposals for the appointment of Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and Working Groups for the Municipal Year 2025/26, including the terms of reference for those bodies.  The proposed membership of the various bodies was tabled at the meeting as Appendix 3, in accordance, with sections 4.9 and 5.3 of the report.

 

The annual meeting of Council was required to establish Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and Working Groups and to determine their terms of reference.  The terms of reference were set out in Part 3 of the Constitution - Responsibility for Functions and the appendices indicated below were provided:-

 

• Appendix 1:     Terms of Reference of Council, Cabinet and Committees.
• Appendix 2:     Terms of Reference of Panels and Working Groups.

 

Where appropriate, minor and consequential amendments had been made to the existing Terms of Reference, to incorporate revised legislation and changes to national policies.

 

Allocation of Seats

 

The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990 required that the number of seats on committees and sub-committees reflected the overall political balance of the Council.  The number of seats held by each political group and others for the 2025/26 Municipal Year was:-

 

Labour and Co-operative Group	21
Conservative Group	12
Green	1
Independent	1

 

The Council comprised 35 elected members.

 

The total seats available across the Council should now, in so far as is practicable, be divided between the political parties in the following ratio: 63.6% (Labour and Co-operative) 36.4% (Conservative).  The same ratio should be applied, in so far as is practicable, to the allocation of seats on each individual committee/sub-committee.  There was no legislative requirement to include councillors who were not members of a formal political group (such as Independent members) in the political balance calculation.   However, the Council might choose to offer seats to Independent and other councillors who were not able to form a political group on the Council, as it had done on previous occasions.

 

The basic calculation to allocate seats to committees of various sizes remained as had been indicated at the Council meeting on 27^th February 2025, following the by-election in the Baxenden ward, and is as shown in Table 1 below (columns 1 to 5).  At that time, the Council noted that some adjustment to the ratios shown might be required in the final allocation of seats across the Council to take into account the following principles as required by the legislation and in the light of the practice referred to above concerning independent Members:

 

(a)     Not all seats to go to the same group;

(b)     If a Group had a majority on the Council, it should receive a majority of seats on each committee;

(c)     Total number of seats across all bodies must be proportionate (subject to (a) and (b));

(d)     Seats on each body must be proportionate (subject to (a) to (c)).

 

Table 1 below also set out the allocation of seats proposed for 2025/26 (column 6 refers).  Following the changes to proportionality, as determined in February 2025, it was now proposed that the allocation of the Independent councillor seat be applied to a committee of 12 members (rather than a committee of 13 members).  This was to take into account a proposed reduction in the size of the Planning Committee to 12 members in 2025/26.

 

Table 1

 

No of seats on Committee	Lab	Cons	Green	Indpt	Proposed Ratio
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
2 members	1	1	0	0	1:1:0:0
3 members	2	1	0	0	2:1:0:0
4 members	3	1	0	0	3:1:0:0
5 members	3	2	0	0	3:2:0:0
6 members	4	2	0	0	4:2:0:0
7 members	5	2	0	0	5:2:0:0
8 members	5	3	0	0	5:3:0:0
9 members	6	3	0	0	6:3:0:0
10 members	7	3	0	0	7:3:0:0
11 members	7	4	0	0	7:4:0:0
12 members	8	4	0	0	8:3:0:1*
13 members	9	4	0	0	8:4:0:0
14 members	9	5	0	0	8:5:1:0*
15 members	10	5	0	0	10:5:0:0

 

*   NB. Adjusted to provide for 1 Green and 1 Independent seat.

 

 

There were no amendments proposed to the names of committees/sub-committees since the meeting held on 27^th February 2025.  The size of all committees/sub-committees would remain the same, save for the following proposed adjustments:

 

• Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee – reduce from 8 to 7 members
• Special Scrutiny Committee – increase from 7 to 8 members
• Planning Committee – reduce from 13 to 12 members

 

The total number of available seats across all committees and sub-committees would reduce from 88 to 87.

 

Details of the Council’s proposed committees and sub-committees, the number of seats available and allocation of seats for 2025/26 were as set out in Table 2 below.

 

Table 2

 

Committee	Lab	Cons	Green	Indpt	Size
Audit	4	2	0	0	6
Communities & Wellbeing OSC	5	3	0	0	8
Judicial Committee (PH & HC Licensing)	4	2	0	0	6
Licensing Committee	8	5	1	0	14
Licensing Sub-Committee	2	1	0	0	3
Management Review Committee	3	2	0	0	5
Planning Committee	8	3	0	1	12
Planning (Trees) Sub-Committee	3	2	0	0	5
Resources OSC	5	2	0	0	7
Special Scrutiny Committee	5	3	0	0	8
Standards Committee	5	3	0	0	8
Standards - Hearing Sub-Committee*	3	2	0	0	5
Total	55 63.2%	30 34.5%	1 1.1%	1 1.1%	87 100%

 

 

The proposed membership of Committees was tabled at the meeting, as Appendix 3(a).

 

Establishment and Membership of Panels and Working Groups

 

The terms of reference of the Panels and Working Groups was provided as Appendix 2.

 

The membership of Panels and Working Groups did not need to be politically balanced.  The proposed membership of Panels and Working Groups was tabled at the meeting as Appendix 3(b).

 

Cabinet

 

The size of the Cabinet, its membership and allocation of portfolio responsibilities was within the power of the Leader.  The Cabinet membership and positions for 2025/26 would be determined as soon as practicable and circulated for information.

 

Appointment of Co-opted Members to Overview and Scrutiny Committees

 

All appointments had been reviewed in 2025 and successful nominees had been appointed at that time for a two year period until the Annual Council Meeting in 2026.

 

Appointment of Substitute Members

 

A member of the Council who could not attend a meeting could appoint a reserve member not serving on that particular Committee, Sub-Committee, Panel or Working Group to act as a substitute, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule A26.8.

 

The Council was reminded that no substitute members could be appointed in respect of the Standards Committee.

 

The Council was also asked to note that, members of the Licensing Committee, Judicial Committee (Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licensing) and Planning Committee and their substitutes were required to undertake specific training because of the quasi-judicial nature of the decisions taken.

 

As in previous years, it was proposed to widen the scope of the substitution arrangements to allow for any member, rather than just a reserve member, to be appointed, subject to the limitations described in paragraphs 8.2 to 8.3 of the report as outlined above.

 

Councillor Judith Addison spoke against the reduction in the size of the Planning Committee from 13 to 12 on the grounds that this would reduce the Conservative representation from 4 to 3 members and would leave the committee with an even number of members which could result in an equality of votes being cast, therefore, requiring the use of the Chair’s second vote.  The political balance calculation would suggest a committee of 8 (Labour) 4 (Conservative), but she had no objection to the gifting of a place to the Independent member.  Under the circumstances, a committee of 13 members might appear to be fairer. 

 

Councillor Khan expressed some concerns at the changes proposed to the Planning Committee and two of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.  He felt that the size of Planning Committee should be maintained as an odd number and was of the view that the change was being made for political reasons.  He also felt that the reduction to the size of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee did not allow for a broad cross-section of views to be considered.

 

Councillor Steven Smithson asked whether there was any restriction on the Deputy Mayor chairing an Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  Jane Ellis, Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services) confirmed that there was no restriction.

 

Councillor Pritchard commented that she had served on the Planning Committee and confirmed that, as a quasi-judicial committee, the whip was never applied.  Councillor Parkins concurred with that statement, although did express the view that a committee with an odd number of members might be more logical.

 

The Leader confirmed that there was no whip applied to voting on the Planning Committee.  Members serving on that committee should have an open mind when considering each case and their decision should be based on the evidence presented.  He expressed the view that the controlling group had been over-generous in the allocation of opposition seats on that committee in 2024/25.  He noted the point about the desirability of an odd number of members on the committee, but was confident that an even number would be just as effective.   In respect of Overview and Scrutiny Committees, the facility to co-opt members allowed for a broad base of views when scrutinising the Cabinet.

 

Resolved                               (1)     That the terms of reference of Council, Cabinet and other constituted bodies, as outlined in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report be approved.

 

(2)     That the political composition of Committees and Sub-Committees of the Council, as set out in Table 2 of the report, be approved.

 

(3)     That the membership of those Committees and Sub-Committees and the proposed Chairs and Vice-Chairs, as set out in Appendix 3(a), be approved and that, where any such details are not available at the meeting, the Chief Executive be authorised to approve the membership in consultation with the leaders of the relevant political groups and in the case of Green orIndependent Members in consultation with those Members directly.

 

(4)     That the membership of Panels and Working Groups, together with the proposed Chairs, as set out in Appendix 3(b), be approved and that, where any such details are not available at the meeting, the Chief Executive be authorised to approve the membership in consultation with the leaders of the relevant political groups and in the case of Green orIndependent Members in consultation with those Members directly.

 

(5)     That a Councillor unable to attend a meeting, of which he/she is a member, be authorised to appoint a Councillor not serving on that particular Committee, Sub-Committee, Panel or Working Group to act as a substitute in accordance with Council Procedure Rule A26.8.